The lyrics "Moi, je t'offrirai des perles de pluie venues de pays où il ne pleut pas" ("I'll offer you rain pearls from lands where it does not rain") are sung to a theme borrowed from the second part, Lassan (Andante), of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 by the composer Franz Liszt.

Ne me quitte pas was written after Brel's mistress "Zizou" (Suzanne Gabriello) threw him out of her life.[3] Zizou was pregnant with Brel's child, but Brel refused to acknowledge the child as his own. Zizou later had an abortion due to Brel's actions.[3]

Simone Langlois (possibly the very first recording: Brel would have passed it to her prior to recording his own version[5])

1961:

Maysa Matarazzo in Maysa Sings Songs Before Dawn and Maysa Matarazzo 1961 (released in Argentina). This version was used by Pedro Almodóvar in the movie Law of Desire (1987). Also used in 2001 for the Brazilian mini-series Presença de Anita (Anita's Presence) and in 2009 miniseries Maysa: Quando Fala o Coração.

Vicky Leandros – Brel asked Leandros to sing this song after they met in a French TV studio. The song was released on the album Ich Bin released January 1971 and on the French album Je Suis Comme Je Suis released in Canada (October 1971)

Scott Walker recorded a cover of "Ne me quitte pas" on his third solo album Scott 3, originally released in 1969. Scott Walker released various Brel covers on the albums Scott 1, 2 & 3, which were translated by Mort Shuman.